Last month, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation revealed plans for a new grant program that would focus on improving rates of college completion for low-income students. The first recipients of the grants were announced Tuesday, primarily consisting of organizations that either study or promote college preparedness and completion among the foundation's target groups. While few of the grants awarded will translate directly into college scholarships for first-generation, low-income, or minority students, many of the programs receiving funding are intended to help these students go to college and create success. Currently, only 25 percent of low-income students finish college, and each year high schools produce over 560,000 college-eligible graduates (most whose parents make less than $85,000 a year) who will fail to earn a college degree within 8 years, according to research cited by the New York Times. The Gates Foundation's stated goal for this grant program is to eventually double the percentage of low-income students completing a college degree or certificate program by the age of 26. The Chronicle of Higher Education explains that the grant initiative will have a three-pronged approach: "making the case to policy makers, educators, and business leaders about the need for increasing college-completion rates; accelerating success in remedial education; and ensuring that young people have the financial, social, and academic support to succeed in college." Coupled with the existing Gates Millenium Scholarship Program, which helps disadvantaged and minority students pay for school, these Gates Foundation grants have the potential to ultimately make not only attending college, but earning a degree and achieving college goals possible for the majority of American high school graduates.

And remember, there’s no need to rely on expensive student loan options to pay for your college education. For more information on finding free scholarship money for college, conduct a Scholarships.com free college scholarship search today, then apply and win! It’s that easy!

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Yesterday, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced that they had reached a settlement with the College Board regarding the preferred lender list controversy that has been unfolding since early 2007. The investigation revealed that the College Board had been offering discounts on its products to college financial aid offices that agreed to add their student loan service to a preferred lender list. Discounts of more than 20 percent off the College Board's proprietary software were given in exchange for placement on preferred lender lists. The College Board pulled out of private loans in 2007, but the investigations continued, culminating in yesterday's settlement, the latest of several with private student lenders.

The College Board has agreed to adhere to a code of conduct if it ever returns to the private lending market. The organization will be required to put $675,000 towards developing tools to help students and financial aid offices compare student loan offers. The College Board will also be required to distribute its new student loan calcualtors and "requests for proposals" (the forms that will allow for comparison among student loans) freely to schools for the next two financial aid cycles.

This news came as the Career College Assocation, an organization of private career-training institution administrators, released the results of a survey indicating the difficulty that students at two year, for-profit schools currently face finding money for college. More students are registering but not attending classes, and having trouble finding a private loan without a cosigner. The majority of schools report students needing to change lenders or facing higher interest rates. Some students are unable to procure a private loan at all, while others are contending with delayed loan disbursements. A number of these colleges have stepped in to offer institutional student loans, ranging from less than $1,000 to over $10,000, to students who are unable to meet the gap between their federal student financial aid and their cost of attendance.

Going to college doesn't have to break the bank or saddle you with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Check out the Scholarships.com free college scholarship search where you’ll discover you qualify for hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships in just a few minutes, then apply and win! It’s that easy!

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Are you a high school senior who already has entrepreneurial experience? While all of your friends were being handed pricing guns or learning how to man the drive-thru window at their jobs, did you decide to take a different route and be your own boss? While a small business definitely makes an impressive line on your college applications, it can be worth scholarship money ($40,000, in fact!) as well as experience and bragging rights. If you started your own business at least a year ago and are planning to go to college next year, you'll want to look into this week's Scholarship of the Week. The McKelvey Foundation Entrepreneurial Scholarship can help you pay for school for all four years, and might even cover your full tuition at some state colleges. Prize: Up to $10,000 per year for four years Eligibility: Current high school seniors who have owned and operated a small business or non-profit organization for at least one year. The business must generate sales revenue (except in the case of non-profits) and have at least one paid employee. Students must be planning to enroll at an accredited four-year college or university in the United States. Deadline: January 25, 2009 Required Materials: Applicants must submit an online scholarship application on the McKelvey Foundation website and be able to provide additional documentation when requested. Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search on Scholarships.com. Once the search is completed, students eligible for this scholarship award will find it in their search results.

And don't forget, you should pay for your college education with as much free money as possible! Find as many scholarships and grants as you can before turning to student loans. Visit the Scholarships.com free college scholarship search today where you'll get matched with countless scholarships and grants for which you qualify, then apply and win! It’s that easy!

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While a change in or loss of employment can be a powerful motivator for many people to go to college to learn new skills and gain new credentials, funding your education can seem impossible with no steady source of income. At the same time, with a deepening recession and a still-growing unemployment rate, the job market is not favorable for many who have been laid off, especially those who lack a college degree. Luckily, campus-based aid programs can help make attending college possible for the unemployed. Several community colleges and at least one private college are now offering tuition discounts for members of their communities who were recently laid off. Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, PA has been making headlines recently by announcing the revival of its program that waives tuition for prospective students who have recently lost their jobs. The college has rolled out this tuition waiver in past recessions, allowing displaced workers to attend full-time or part-time and pay only student fees, which are currently $28 per credit. Student financial aid is available to help especially cash-strapped students cover the cost of fees, as well. Students are able to take 12 credits tuition-free each term, but must register after students paying full price. A similar program is being offered at Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ. Reading Area Community College in Reading, PA also offers recently unemployed students a one-semester-only tuition waiver covering the cost of up to 13 credits. All of these community college tuition waivers, as well as one offered by Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, MI are profiled in an article in Inside Higher Ed. Other schools may offer discounted tuition or additional college scholarships or grants for students who have lost a major source of income due to the recession. Nearly all colleges are able to offer some additional assistance if students or their parents are facing financial hardships, though, so don't assume college is out of reach just because you don't live in Southfield, MI or Paramus, NJ. Talk to your financial aid office and see what they can do to help. And taking some time to conduct a free college scholarship search couldn't hurt, either.

And don't forget, you should pay for your college education with as much free money as possible! Find as many scholarships and grants as you can before turning to student loans. Visit the Scholarships.com free college scholarship search today where you'll get matched with countless scholarships and grants for which you qualify, then apply and win! It’s that easy!

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Providing incentives for good grades is an increasingly common policy for parents of elementary and high school students. In my household, report card day meant personal pan pizzas and a reprieve from the topping battle among my sister who didn't eat cheese, my sister who only ate cheese, and my own vote for a supreme pizza with extra cheese. After pizza ceased to be a point of contention, my parents switched to the popular plan of offering financial incentives for good grades. I don't remember the pay scale exactly, but I do remember missing it once I hit college. Many undergraduate students are probably in the same boat, thinking about how even $10 or $20 per A could mean fewer trips to the plasma bank or even an extra textbook or two next semester.

Two brothers, who also happen to hold economics degrees from Harvard and Princeton, had a similar idea. Michael and Matthew Kopko launched the website GradeFund last month to apply a model similar to fundraising for a marathon, where sponsors pledge to donate a certain amount per mile completed, to finding money for college. College students' friends and family members, as well as corporate sponsors and others interested in donating money to help deserving students fund their educations, sign up on the site to give a certain dollar amount per grade earned to a particular student.

Students create profiles donors can search, and are matched up with people interested in helping them finance their educations. Rather than agreeing to provide student loans or cover tuition in exchange for work, like in otherpeer-to-peer financial aid programs we've mentioned on our blog, donors on GradeFund, like scholarship providers, don't require anything in return for their donations. While it's unlikely that a student will pay for their entire university education this way (according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the current highest pledge per A is $400), they could easily pay for their books and possibly even a good part of other expenses that college scholarships or student financial aid might not cover. Plus, since these payments are linked to concrete achievements by students already attending college, donors may feel less apprehensive about the recipients of their philanthropy floundering once they face the academic challenges of their undergraduate studies.

Going to college doesn't have to break the bank or saddle you with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Check out the Scholarships.com free college scholarship search where you’ll discover you qualify for hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships in just a few minutes, then apply and win! It’s that easy!

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Every two years, the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education releases a report entitled "Measuring Up," which grades states in six categories related to higher education. This year's results were published today and many states are probably wishing they had been graded on a curve. Out of 50 states, only California received a passing grade in terms of affordability, squeaking by with a C-. Grades were higher in terms of preparation, participation, completion, and benefits, and all states received an incomplete in learning due to insufficient data.

A state's higher education affordability grade was arrived at by considering the following: family ability to pay at community colleges, state universities, and 4-year private colleges (based on percentage of income after financial aid is taken into account); the level of investment in need-based state financial aid programs (as compared to federal investment in Pell Grants); the presence of low-cost college options; and the average amount students borrowed per year in student loans. Failing grades suggest that states are not doing enough to make college affordable for their students, especially those from poor and working class families.

If you're a student, you might be wondering what this means for you. The answer? Many students in most states may find it difficult to pay for college using their family income and state and federal student financial aid. And since affordability grades are actually lower this year than two years ago, it may be even tougher now to attend college debt-free. Be sure to explore student financial aid options beyond state and federal programs early, rather than waiting for your award letter and finding you've come up short. You can start by doing a free college scholarship search right here at Scholarships.com.

Scores in other categories were not nearly as bleak as in affordability. However, even though the majority of states received passing scores in four of the five categories in which grades were given, the distribution looks more like a required high school course than, say, a graduate seminar. Statements that accompany the report further stress that in the center's opinion, states need to improve their contributions to higher education. You can view the report card for your state on the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education's website. The Chronicle of Higher Education also provides a chart listing each state's grade in each category.

Going to college doesn't have to break the bank or saddle you with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Check out the Scholarships.com free college scholarship search where you’ll discover you qualify for hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships in just a few minutes, then apply and win! It’s that easy!

New models for student lending have surfaced in recent years, but have gained media attention as the troubles with student loans have continued throughout 2008. One idea, which we've blogged about previously, is peer-to-peer lending, where students set up deals with friends, family members, or other interested parties to borrow money for college. These deals are brokered through a lending company, and since the parties involved typically know each other, interest rates and default rates are expected to be low.

Another lending model that has succeeded in other countries and is now being tested in the United States, is more akin to investing than lending. Investors, such as individuals or companies, agree to pay for a student's college education. In return, the student agrees to repay a portion of their income to the investor for an agreed upon period of time. In some ways, this resembles the income-contingent repayment plans available for federalconsolidation loans. These contracts are also meeting criticism, including comparisons to indentured servitude. Others worry that students with prospects for high income will not be interested and that few people will want to invest in humanities students, who are likely to provide low returns on their investments. Nevertheless, such "human capital" contracts are expected to be well-received by many students and investors. As reported by The Boston Globe, one company is already piloting a human capital contract program with a handful of business school students pursuing MBA degrees.

While human capital contracts and peer-to-peer lending are unlikely to wholly replace private student loans, they may provide students with more alternatives to the current forms of "alternative loans." While college scholarships, institutional aid, and federal student financial aid should always come first, some families do need to borrow significantly to pay for school, and many are likely to welcome a wider range of options for doing so.

And don't forget, you should pay for your college education with as much free money as possible! Find as many scholarships and grants as you can before turning to student loans. Visit the Scholarships.com free college scholarship search today where you'll get matched with countless scholarships and grants for which you qualify, then apply and win! It’s that easy!

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Though a career in law may sound promising, the cost of law school will not. About 80 percent of law school students borrow money to pay for school, and, depending on the university they attend, graduate with an average student loan debt of $49,000 to $77,000. To encourage future law school students to follow their goals—regardless of tuition prices—we have created a scholarship especially for them.

Students who apply for the Scholarships.com Law Scholarship, this week's Scholarship of the Week, will have the chance to earn $1,000 towards their college education—and it couldn’t be easier. Just respond to the following question in a 250 to 350 word scholarship essay:

"What has influenced your decision to pursue a career in law?"

Prize: $1000

Eligibility:

U.S. citizen Registered Scholarships.com user. Creating an account is simple and free of charge. After you have created an account, conduct a free scholarship search to view and apply for this award. Undergraduate student currently enrolled or a high school senior who plans to enroll in a college or university in the coming academic year Applicant must have indicated an interest in one of the following majors:

Criminal Justice

Government

History

Justice/Legal Studies

Law/Pre-Law

Paralegal

Political Science

Deadline:

January 30, 2009

Required Material:

A 250-350 word response to the following question: “What has influenced your decision to pursue a career in law?”

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search. Once the search is completed, students eligible for the award will find it in their scholarship list.

Going to college doesn't have to break the bank or saddle you with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Check out the Scholarships.com free college scholarship search where you’ll discover you qualify for hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships in just a few minutes, then apply and win! It’s that easy!

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Yesterday, the Federal Reserve and Treasury announced a new program to further shore up the banking industry in the face of a recession that appears to still be worsening. The program would devote $200 billion to shoring up consumer credit markets, including credit cards, car loans, and student loans. The hope is that this new program will make these forms of credit more widely available to people who need them, including students who depend on private loans to help pay for school.

The Project on Student Debt is one organization that has encouraged the federal government to exclude private student loans from rescue packages. While the lending industry has been hit hard in the last year, this organization is one of several voices urging that students be steered towards more affordable means of financing their educations. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, while supporting the Treasury's decision, also called for a reevaluation of the role of private loans in paying for college. Private student loans, which carry higher interest rates than federal loans, are intended to be used as a last resort after Federal Stafford Loans, campus-based aid programs, and scholarship money have been exhausted and students are still coming up short on their education expenses.

And don't forget, you should pay for your college education with as much free money as possible! Find as many scholarships and grants as you can before turning to student loans. Visit the Scholarships.com free college scholarship search today where you'll get matched with countless scholarships and grants for which you qualify, then apply and win! It’s that easy!

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It's hard to believe, but next week it will be December. While it's tempting to train your eyes on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and the accompanying problem of consuming enough homecooked food to sustain you through finals, the next few months will be busy, especially if you're planning to apply for any sort of financial aid. Between your high school or college coursework and adjusting your schedule and budget to accommodate winter holidays, December and January tend to fly by. Since many scholarship application deadlines happen in December and January, now is the perfect time to do a quick scholarship search and double check that you don't miss out on applying for scholarships while you're in Thursday night's turkey-induced coma.

Search for available scholarships. See if anything new has come up since you last looked. Many scholarship providers post new information in November, so if it's been a few weeks, now is the time to go back!

Make note of approaching deadlines. While January deadlines may seem a long way off now, consider how many free days you're likely to have between now and then. Probably not many if you have finals, family, and friends all demanding a large chunk of your time. Also, several scholarship awards have November/December deadlines, including our own College Health Scholarship, which closes November 30.

Take a hard look at your schedule. By now you should know what the rest of this semester looks like as well as how heavy your next semester will be. Figure out times you'll be able to get those applications done. Then take a look at your list of scholarship opportunities and prioritize accordingly.

Do some drafting. You're going to be spending an entire day in a house with your extended family. Defeat awkward silences and make your relatives feel smart by asking them for input on your scholarship essays. You don't have to staple your rough draft to the turkey or refuse to let anyone sit until they've proofread a paragraph, but usually there's some downtime where the topic can successfully be brought up. If nothing else, saying that you have essay writing to do can give you an out when the topic turns to your great aunt's new medication.

Going to college doesn't have to break the bank or saddle you with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Check out the Scholarships.com free college scholarship search where you’ll discover you qualify for hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships in just a few minutes, then apply and win! It’s that easy!